


The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slave Ownership, Chapter 3

by Mossgreen



Series: 2770 ab urbe condita [22]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Complete Idiot's Guide, M/M, Master/Slave, None - Freeform, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:35:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15833871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mossgreen/pseuds/Mossgreen
Summary: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slave Owning: Chapter 3: Rewards and Discipline (What To Do and What Not To Do)Written as a recent fill to an old (and potentially expired) challenge on the orig_slavefic LJ community.Notstrictlypart of the 2770 a.u.c 'verse, I can definitely see this being sold in all good bookshops Empire-wide. (And if you think I had Ven's master in mind while writing it, yep, you'd be correct!)Normal service in the 2770 a.u.c. series will resume shortly...





	The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slave Ownership, Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

> Not my idea. (With thanks to [**Imperial_Dragon**](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/Imperial_Dragon/) for the master's thought process/questions. I'd have got there eventually, but a lot slower! Apologies to [](https://me-ya-ri.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**me_ya_ri**](https://me-ya-ri.dreamwidth.org/) who had the original idea for this over at [](http://orig-slavefic.livejournal.com/profile)[**orig_slavefic**](http://orig-slavefic.livejournal.com/) \- go check out the official chapters, [here](https://orig_slavefic.livejournal.com/tag/the%20complete%20idiot%27s%20guide) (broken links restored in my post [here](https://mossgreen.dreamwidth.org/6830.html)). I'm no longer on LJ so can't post this to the actual [](http://orig-slavefic.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://orig-slavefic.livejournal.com/)**orig_slavefic** community (LJ doesn't allow OpenIDs to join communities, for some reason). (It's been ten years since the challenge was issued, I'm going to assume nobody was going to write this chapter, otherwise it would have been done by now.)  
>   
>  If there's anything you think I should have included, and haven't, let me know - I'll add it in!

So, you have just acquired your slave, a perfect, obedient warm lithe body in bed and a good-looking decorative useful servant around the house. We have discussed, in a previous chapter, the training of your slave (and how he, in turn, will help you to become a better master). We must now turn to how to reinforce that training.

There are two types of reinforcement: positive and negative. Or, if you prefer, the carrot and the stick (although I cannot recommend carrots as being a good reward; they should constitute a regular part of your slave's healthy diet – and diet is discussed in a further chapter in this work. Please turn to Page 73 for more information on How To Feed Your Slave Healthily Every Day).

Positive rewards for your slave can range from a simple statement, such as "Good boy!" to a more substantive reward. My own boy has a sweet tooth, which I indulge on occasion as a reward or reinforcement of the behaviour I desire from him. He also likes to read novels, which cost very little to buy, but work well as a reward for good behaviour. Their confiscation can also be used as a threat of punishment when his behaviour drops below an acceptable standard (see Discipline, below.)

Rewards are designed to reinforce the behaviour you want your slave to exhibit. You should reward often, as often as you can, in small ways. Verbal rewards may be given very frequently, and will then make a verbal reprimand all the more forceful and less desirable for your slave. After all, if your slave is used to hearing verbal praise from you and receives a stern “No”, it will be more memorable for him and you will be less likely to have to escalate your punishments. Incurring your displeasure should be punishment in and of itself.

Of course, verbal rewards may be used frequently, but what should you do when a simple “Good boy” is inadequate, for whatever reason? I have a (flexible) scale of rewards for my boy, from a verbal reinforcement, to a treat – as mentioned, he has a sweet tooth I don't mind indulging when the occasion allows. A simple cup of hot chocolate or a pastry from the baker's are cheap enough rewards you may choose to buy for your slave, or let him choose for himself, although you will not wish to do so too often in case he comes to look on it as a right rather than the privilege it is for you to grant.

Physical affection may also be used as a reward, from ruffling the hair, to allowing him to share your bed. This is an area where there is great variation between masters and you will naturally find your own way here, whatever works best for you and your slave.

Rewarding your slave is therefore a case of indulging him in some way to reinforce a behaviour you want from him. For it to be effective, you must be aware of his likes (and dislikes). One of the things I know about my own boy from observation is that he likes to read trashy paperbacks, generally romances or detective novels. When he has been extra good, or done something above and beyond what I have asked of him, or if I am feeling more than usually indulgent, I may buy him such a novel. Again, they do not cost very much, and there is always the threat of confiscation if his behaviour slips too badly.

Of course, your slave should always be striving to be the perfect slave you want, and I do not mean that you should offer a larger reward for something that he should be doing anyway.

 **Discipline**  
Whatever you choose as a punishment for your slave, it must be proportional to the misdemeanour. As rewards increase in scale the better your slave conforms to the behaviour you desire, or as he exceeds it, so too your level of discipline should increase the further he slips from that ideal. You do not want to whip him bloody for forgetting to add sugar to your morning coffee, because what will you do if he accidentally breaks your great-grandmother's antique Etruscan vase? Keeping your slave in a state of abject terror is not good for you, because you will not get the best from him, nor is it good for him, because he will not be able to listen, learn and develop into the slave you want to own.

For myself, when it comes to punishment, I have three questions I need to ask. Well, four, but we are assuming the answer to the first one is 'yes'.  
1\. Did I purchase the correct slave for the purpose I wanted?  
2\. Is the slave correctly incentivised – am I using the correct rewards/punishments for this particular slave?  
3\. Is the slave being supervised correctly?  
4\. Is the slave correctly informed?  
If the answer to all of these is yes, then the slave must be punished, proportionate to the crime. If the answer to any of these is no, then the slave must be punished, although perhaps not as harshly, and whatever went wrong _must_ be put right so that it does not happen again. That second point is your responsibility as the master, and bears repeating: _If something went wrong to cause your slave's behaviour to slip, occasioning a punishment, you must put it right once your have carried out the necessary punishment._

Failure to do so will mean that your slave will fail again, and again. This will make him lose what incentive he has to be a good slave (see my second question, above), and it will mean that you are not being the good master you are capable of being. You are the one with the power and it is up to you to set the conditions that will allow your slave to be the very best he can be. Anything else merely sets him up to fail and that will make your slave miserable, because no matter what he does, he will not be able to succeed. And he _wants_ to succeed, to be the very best slave that he can be for you.

As discussed above, if your slave is used to hearing you tell him "Good boy" or "Well done" consistently, then the negative "Bad slave" or a stern verbal reprimand, even a look, will have the desired effect of curbing that behaviour – he wants to do well, to make you a happy master. You have all the power and can make his life miserable without breaking a sweat.

 **Things you should never punish for**  
1\. Speaking freely or expressing an opinion _if you have given him permission to do so_. Otherwise, if you do not care to allow him to express an opinion unasked, a silent look should be all the reminder he requires to remember his place and make him aware of your displeasure.  
2\. Asking for clarification of an order. If he needs an order to be clarified, then it wasn't given clearly enough, or there was some ambiguity. If, however, he is stalling for time and hopes you may be induced to change your mind, that is not permissible. If the slave perceives an order as a trap to get him in trouble, then he may be scared to ask for clarification. He should not be punished for freezing up, that is a product of bad training or a bad experience with a previous master. It is up to you to determine whether a request for clarification is truly that or is merely stalling for time - the more you observe your slave and his overall behaviour and demeanour in various situations, the easier it will become. Get into the habit of making your orders clear and this will greatly lessen the chances of misunderstanding. (Please also see the chapter on _How To Give Orders That Won’t Get Your Slave In Trouble_ on p. 95.)

If you have done as recommended throughout this book and begun to practise active communication and observation, you will already have begun to form ideas on how to punish your slave effectively. The key with discipline, as with rewards, is consistency. If you punish lying with a time-out one day and with a paddling the next, your slave will end up a confused miserable heap of nerves who will merely respond “Yes Master” in a listless tone of voice to any question or order you put to him. You should make it clear what he should expect from you, and the punishments you mete out should be firm and fair.

I should make it clear here that I do not mean that every slave should be punished in exactly the same way for the same misdemeanour. After all, one may find it arousing to be spanked while another may loathe the humiliation of being put over your knee for a spanking. The _level_ of punishment should be consistent, however, tailored to the individual, and each slave should be aware of how you will punish him and how that will escalate for him if his behaviour is not corrected. After all, the desired result of discipline is to correct behaviour you do not want a slave to exhibit, so that you can reward him for the behaviour you _do_ want to see.

 **How to Discipline Your Slave**  
First of all, let me say that you should never _ever_ consider disciplining or punishing your slave while you are still angry. Give yourself time to calm down and approach it rationally. Having said that, you should discipline your slave as soon as possible after the behaviour that elicits punishment. This will associate the misbehaviour more closely with the punishment (whatever it is) than if there is a significant delay. 

Along with never administering discipline or correction while you are angry, you should never ever punish your slave without making it clear to him what it is you are punishing him for. A slap if he has been impudent, administered immediately, is one thing, but a slap given for no apparent reason is quite a different matter. A punishment must always be associated with the behaviour you are correcting, whether given immediately (when the association is obvious) or administered later (in which case you will need to verbally explain what the punishment is for).

Whatever the punishment chosen, you need to communicate with your slave so that he is aware that you are disappointed in his behaviour and that such behaviour is unacceptable. You must ensure the punishment chosen is of a suitable level for the act that occasioned it. I strongly recommend that you mete out the punishment yourself, whatever it is and however distasteful it is to do so; there are some households which delegate discipline but I think it is far more effective when administered by the master.

Specify exactly what you are punishing your slave for and make him verbalise it back to you, preferably in his own words. This will make it clear to you both that he did wrongly, and understands precisely what he did that was wrong and what he is being punished for. This will allow him to associate the punishment with the misbehaviour and correct the misbehaviour so that he does not have to suffer punishment for it again in the future. If you choose to include a period of anticipation or contemplation, I recommend strongly that you place the slave where he can see the instrument to be used, or feel it - if you choose to place him kneeling in the corner to think over his misdeeds, for example, place the strap or cane across the back of his legs. This will heighten his awareness and the anticipation of the punishment to come.

Once the punishment is over (including the time-out if you choose to include one), then you must reassure your slave that it is over, that he is still your good boy. He must learn that it is his _actions_ that are in the wrong and not he himself. He will need this reassurance, for his worst fear is that you are angry or disappointed in him.

Finally, once a punishment is over, do not refer to it again. If you find that you are punishing your slave for the same misdemeanour again and again, I suggest strongly that you review the particular punishment you have chosen to mete out, and be prepared to change it to something else.


End file.
